Prior to pay-at-the-pump technology, gasoline service stations were typically equipped with an attendant-operated terminal for manually transacting fuel purchases. This type of terminal was ordinarily situated in a central location, normally the sales office, and self-service customers were required to pay for gasoline at this location. So long as each fuel dispensing pump was “enabled,” i.e., ready for pumping without attendant intervention, a customer merely had to park his car at one of the fuel islands, pump the gasoline and then walk to the central location to pay for the gasoline purchase.
However, the problem of “drive-offs” often required service station operators to avoid leaving the fuel dispensers in a normally enabled state. A “drive-off” occurred whenever a car refueling at a remote, enabled fuel dispenser drove off without paying for the gasoline. This situation led to the installation of equipment to remotely enable the fuel dispensers from the central location. It also led to requiring the customer to make a pre-payment for gasoline before the attendant enabled the fuel dispenser. However, such pre-payment could only be made at the central location, requiring the customer to park his car at one of the fuel islands and walk to the central location to tender pre-payment by cash, debit card, credit card and the like. After making the pre-payment, the customer would walk back to the fuel island and dispense the gasoline. After the fuel dispensing was done, the customer would return to the central location to complete the sales transaction by obtaining any change due, picking up a cash receipt, signing a credit card slip or performing any similar action. The procedure was time consuming and inconvenient to the customer and frequently resulted in lost sales to the service station operator.
Consequently, the option for paying for fuel purchases at the pump without the need to walk to the central location for pre-payment or post-pumping wrap-up has become increasingly popular to the motoring public. Such a point of sale system allows for payment using a customer credit card or cash or other known payment means, and can automatically enable fuel dispensers directly from a fuel island. Since current regulations require that all customers be offered the option to have a printed receipt, most fuel dispensers are equipped with an internal printer for printing a customer receipt.
One drawback to having the printer located within the dispenser or at an outdoor payment terminal is that the printer paper must be replaced on a regular basis. Since the printer compartment is often located within or near the payment terminal, certain security measures are often present and must be overcome in order to open the printer door and replace the paper. For example, in order to service a fuel dispenser, a key is often required to unlock the door, and for some dispensers a password may also need to be input into the system to disarm any alarm. One service is complete, the alarm must also be reactivated and the door locked. This can be burdensome since the printer paper often needs to be changed on a regular basis.
Moreover, one of the biggest warranty issues with in-dispenser and outdoor payment terminals is the receipt printer. The problem is that the elements have an even greater effect on the printer components than other components in the outdoor payment terminal. In addition, poor quality paper, incorrectly installed paper, and general mechanical wear cause a much higher instance of warranty repair and replacement calls for the receipt printer.
As retailers continue to transition toward the use of electronic receipts, rather than paper receipts, the need to provide paper receipts has diminished. However, many customers still require receipts for expense reports or for mileage books for tax purposes. Current fuel dispensers are not equipped to transmit payment information electronically, and there is no comprehensive way to aggregate receipts and transaction information (i.e. gallons filled, current odometer reading) for tax and business expense purposes in an automated fashion to simplify the effort required for expense submittals.
As a result, there is a need for improved methods and devices for enabling such electronic transmission of payment information in a fueling environment.